Chess Starts in Equatorial Guinea
Since May 2017, working in conjunction with Equatoguinean Chess enthusiast Federico Elé Rano, high school students Avi Gupta and Seth Talyansky organized the first-ever Chess match “by correspondence” between EG players and the secondary school players of Catlin Gabel School (USA), to promote a cross-cultural understanding, and it was very successful.
From the enthusiasm of that first experience, and with the specific request of support formulated by Federico, Gupta and Talyansky collected through GoFundMe about $540 (additional $400 by Catlin Gabel Student Association) for boards, pieces, and clocks to support the development of Chess in Equatorial Guinea. In the last two years, they have supported the Equatoguinean chess players in the organization of national Tournaments, scholastic educative programs, and the Establishment of the National Association of Chess of Equatorial Guinea (ANAGE).
In addition to the above, a visit has been scheduled for a delegation of four Catlin Gabel Chess Representatives: Avi Gupta, Duncan Soiffer, Seth Talyansky, and Sean Uan-Zo-li, who will collaborate with ANAGE Technical Director Federico Elé Rano to organize a two-day formal Chess contest (professionally coordinated by Gupta-Talyansky), visit schools to donate Chess materials and promote Chess through the celebration of public exhibitions, including blindfolded matches and simultaneous games. The visit will also contribute to the strengthening of the Young ANAGE, thanks to the meetings with local and international governmental officials like the president of the Olympic Committee of EG, and some Executives of the Ministry of Education and Sports.
A successful visit of the Catlin Gabel team could lead to the consideration of ANAGE by international Chess institutions like FEDA (Spain), Deutscher Schachbund (Germany), US Chess (USA), and Confederaçăo Brasileira de Xadrez (Brasil), and ultimately help with the application process to become a FIDE member.
Press Release 10/24/2018
From November 15 to 22, Catlin Gabel Chess players Avi Gupta, Duncan Soiffer, Seth Talyansky, and Sean Uan-Zo-li will travel to Equatorial Guinea. For the past two years, Gupta and Talyansky, both seniors at the Catlin Gabel School in Portland, Oregon, have collaborated with Equatoguinean chess activists on establishing both scholastic and general competitive chess in EG. In May 2017, working in conjunction with local EG chess advocate Federico Ele Rano—a connection facilitated by the Embassy of EG to the US—Gupta and Talyansky organized a correspondence chess match between EG players and Portland high-school players to promote cross-cultural understanding. Gupta and Talyansky also orchestrated a GoFundMe donation drive that raised $540 for boards, pieces, and clocks to support EG chess. In recent months, they have supported Equatoguinean chess players in the organization of national tournaments, educational programs in schools, and a national chess association (la Asociación Nacional de Ajedrez de Guinea Ecuatorial - ANAGE). On their visit, Gupta, Talyansky, Soiffer, and Uan-zo-li will collaborate with Technical Director of ANAGE Ele Rano and his team in organizing a chess festival complete with a youth tournament and the inaugural international Equatoguinean Open, teaching chess in schools, holding public exhibitions, and meeting with local and international governmental officials about supporting the ANAGE and affiliating it with the International Chess Federation (FIDE).
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y3GmjlzSb5tr7Fh7AN5HYy6-rf_0ITLoqfCvkN2kVPU/edit?ts=5bcf9409
